Today I want to talk about Seasonal Self Care and how planning and thinking about our self care seasonally can help us take better care of ourselves.
What is Seasonal Self Care?
So many people I chat with say that making time for self care is hard and it’s often the first thing to fall by the wayside when life gets busy and routines get changed up.
But what if we looked at our self care on a seasonal basis? For both the seasons of our life and the seasons of the year.
We know that self care isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach and that we have to work out as individuals what taking care of ourselves means (Hint – it’s not always about the bubble bath and pampering!). Different times in our life call for different ways to take care of ourselves. And I know that my self care in Winter looks very different to the Summer.
Perhaps part of our commitment to self care should be sitting down at the start of each season and working out how we can take better care of ourselves? It’s also a great opportunity to review and reflect on what’s been working and what hasn’t… to help us determine the self care that feels right for us every day and what works at certain times.
For me – journalling is a constant… every morning (about 90% of the time!) I write morning pages and every evening (99%) I write in my gratitude journal. Getting outside in nature is also a constant for me… but where I choose to go is dependent on the weather and the seasons.
Action Point:
Take a moment to think about the things you do regularly that contribute to your self care and figure out if they work every day or change up depending on the season.
Examples of Season Specific Self Care
Here are some examples of seasonal self care but remember – it can look different for everyone.
Summer Self Care
- Wearing SPF daily
- Meditating or doing yoga/exercise outside
- Creating and listening to a Summer playlist
- Visiting the beach or seaside
- Making salads that use plenty of in-season produce
Autumn Self Care
- Making crumble and other Autumnal recipes
- Starting/getting back to a hobby that suits Autumn and Winter (like knitting, crochet etc)
- Buy a new sweater or jumper to keep you cozy
- Treating yourself to a new candle
- Go for a walk somewhere where you can see the Autumn colours
Winter Self Care
- Making sure you have warm layers to wear including hat, scarf and gloves
- Trying out new hearty recipes for the slow cooker
- Cozy yoga
- Putting up fairy lights to add some twinkle
- Have a regular early night where you cozy up with a book or to get more sleep
Spring Self Care
- Visiting your favourite spot to see Spring flowers
- Getting outside in the garden
- Decluttering your space
- Trying something new (a hobby or activity)
- Use the extra evening light to walk in the evenings
If you have any season specific self care activity suggestions please do share them in the comments below.
More on Self Care
For more on Self Care take a look at these Self Care Ideas.
There are also plenty of Summer Self Care suggestions in my LOVE SUMMER guided journal. You can find out more about that in my Etsy shop. As well as Self Care the journal also guides you to:
- think about goals and intentions for the Summer
- plan out fun summer activities
- Create a summer happy list – of all the things you love about Summer
- Come up with a Summer Bucket List (I’ve shared more about this here)
- Make a Summer playlist (there’s even a Find the Good Everyday Love Summer playlist)
- Capture and document your Summer memories
It even comes in a kit with some summer themed self care items.
Remember – it’s not too late to make the most of the Summer season and plan out your Summer Self Care.
